The Lie Within ‘There’s Always Tomorrow’

This is the third article in “Diving Deeper Into Cliches”. Current events have inspired this article.

Tomorrow is never guaranteed, so make today the best it can be.

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Tomorrow is never guaranteed, so make today the best it can be.

As humans, we witness patterns. We witness patterns and then we assume that those patterns will continue and never change. That is human nature; that is how we want life to work. 

However, patterns only sometimes work. They only sometimes stay exactly the same. 

Every day we wake up, get ourselves put together, and then continue to carry out our day however that day may present itself. We suspect and assume that in 24 hours we will repeat that same pattern and everything we did today will be very similar to what we do tomorrow. 

Tomorrow. 

It’s a concept rather than a reality. “Why?”, you may ask. Because ‘tomorrow’ is never ever guaranteed. Yes, it will likely come and go, but it is simply a pattern. And as we know, patterns can change in an instant. 

There’s a common cliché phrase that goes along the lines of “There’s always tomorrow”. I find this to be the most inaccurate cliché saying to exist. Now more than ever, this phrase can be proven wrong all over the world just by the current event that has swept over everyone. 

Only one thing in life is guaranteed and that is this exact second right now. This very second. This second has already come. It’s happening right now. It’s guaranteed. But we are not guaranteed the second after it or ten seconds after it or the next hour and definitely not tomorrow.  

Only one thing in life is guaranteed and that is this exact second right now.

Currently, the Coronavirus is spreading all over the world. Unfortunately, it has taken lives. It has taken people’s tomorrows. Their tomorrows are gone. They will never get tomorrow and it’s likely that they assumed they would. 

Many people use the phrase “there’s always tomorrow” as an excuse. An excuse to put off the work today because they think that in 24 hours, they’ll work harder to get it done. No one can predict the future perfectly. Some have guesses and stronger predictions than others, but no one can know exactly what will happen. It’s impossible. 

For example, Coronavirus. No one knew exactly how it would spread so fast and how this situation would result. If someone had, we would have been much more prepared and hopefully prevented the wide-spread of the virus and its outcomes. 

There’s always tomorrow” is somewhat of a selfish thing to say. It is absolutely okay to be optimistic and hopeful for a tomorrow, but to assume that nothing could happen to shift the outcome of the next 24 hours is not. 

An excuse to put off the work today because they think that in 24 hours, they’ll work harder to get it done.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that we should live in fear of something that could change the course of time. It’s just a lesson to live each second to its fullest. To not wait to put in the work needed. To not hang back on an amazing opportunity. Because tomorrow may never come. This second right now is what is here. So live it. 

“There’s always tomorrow” is like waiting for what you hope to come, not what will definitely come. “Probably” is not a guarantee. Life is way too short to wait for a “probably”. Take this as a lesson to be grateful for today because there’s always this second right now. That is guaranteed.